Name: South Indian lemon rice
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 cup cooked rice (day old works best); 1 tbsp mustard seeds; 1 tsp chana dal; 1 tsp urad dal; 7-8 fresh curry leaves; 2 tbsp lemon juice; 1 tsp turmeric powder; ¼ tsp asafetida (hing); 3-4 tbsp pink peanuts; 1 dried red chilli; 2-3 fresh chilis (slit); 3-4 tbsp coriander leaves (chopped); 1 tbsp oil; salt to taste

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A fragrant and delicious, one pot rice recipe with the freshness of lemon juice in it. This is a great recipe to make use of left over rice, if you have

This South Indian lemon rice has been one of my favourites, ever since I remember. Maa makes this often and now here, even I do. Not only is this Indian fried rice fresh and flavoursome, it is also a very quick and easy recipe. Moreover, this is one of those recipes that magically turns leftover rice to something very delicious. While you could make it even with fresh rice, the lemon rice tastes best with day old ones. The freshness of the lemon juice and coriander along with fragrant curry leaves, makes this humble rice recipe, indeed special. While you could have it along side a bowl of yoghurt, papad and/or pickles, I enjoy it just as is. Also the addition of peanuts and dals in the tempering, impart a lovely crunch to each morsel that you take of this beautiful, vibrant rice.

Now, like it happens with most staple recipes, this South Indian lemon rice recipe too, has it’s variations. Some add ginger, some don’t, some use cashews instead of peanuts and so on. However, the basic and predominant taste of the lemons, remains unchanged. Like I mentioned already, I have used peanuts instead in my lemon rice, because that’s what maa uses and so, I am used to having them in this fried rice. Also, I don’t add ginger to my rice, again something I’ve learnt from my mother’s recipe. And like they say, old habits die hard. 😉

The rice to use

Now, while this yummy rice works best with a day old ones, you could make it with a freshly made batch too. However, make sure to cool it down completely before again cooking it further. The reason you will need to do this is to make sure that the rice grains doesn’t stick to your cooking pot, and break, when stir frying with the tempering. When using old rice or cooled down ones, they don’t remain as starchy, therefore when further cooked you will get beautifully separated grains in your fried rice. You could keep this tip in mind, when making fried rice of any kind.

Also, for this recipe, you could use any kind of long grain rice.

Serving suggestions

Make sure to serve your vibrant and fresh lemon rice just off the wok, nice and warm. Some pickle or yoghurt along side works very well with it. Or if you are like me, you could enjoy a warm bowl of this fried rice, on it’s own too. Moreover, this is a great summer recipe. It is light, fragrant and fresh. Also, you won’t need to spend more than 10 minutes in the kitchen to cook this. having said that, let me also tell you, I make this almost all year round. After all, it is one of the best ways in which you can reuse leftover rice. Additionally, it is a life saver of a recipe when you don’t feel like making a very elaborate lunch or dinner.

Share it!

Are you planning to make my version of the South Indian lemon rice? If yes, then I’d love to see how it turned out for you. You could share you rice pictures with me over on Instagram. Also, I’d love too read your feedback and reply too. You could drop a line or two of it in the comments section below. I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you. 🙂

Eat hearty!